Introducing Battleborn’s TV-Style Story

The fight to save the last star in the universe is about to begin as Battleborn, its epic story, and its 25 playable heroes barrel toward launch day on May 3, 2016. That story is playable solo, 2-player splitscreen, or up to 5-players co-op online – and it stars you and your friends! You are the commander of the Battleborn, an uneasy alliance of intergalactic heroes from five different factions who have banded together to stop a dark and mysterious enemy from destroying the universe. Under your command, the Battleborn must live together or die alone. But this story about you and your band of heroes is told differently than other first-person shooters.

BATTLEBORN’S SERIES PREMIERE

We think of May 3 as Battleborn’s series premiere, because the game’s Story Mode is structured just like some of our favorite episodic television shows; from Star Trek and X-Files, to cartoon throwbacks like X-Men and Transformers. Collectively, the “season” included with the game has one large over-arching story spanning eight episodes (plus a prologue), and each episode tells a self-contained story about the Battleborn’s fight to save the last star, Solus.

You can grab a seat in your favorite battle furniture of choice and play an episode solo. Or, grab a buddy and a second controller and play 2-player couch co-op on your console just like the good ol’ days! Or, get online on your PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or PC and team-up with up to four other friends for some 5-player co-op fun. These episodes are highly replayable, and we’ve found that each episode takes about an hour or so for the average to player to beat. Think of all the different ways you’ll tackle each challenge, playing with 25 unique Battleborn heroes. As you run through each episode with a different hero, the dialogue changes. They reveal bits about themselves and provide more backstory to the world as you play. You also earn more loot, gear, XP, and credits every time you play an episode – not to mention that sometimes you’ll even unlock new characters! We’ll get to that in a second.

THE EPISODES

We’ve previously introduced two episodes: “The Algorithm” and “Void’s Edge.” Today we’re revealing a new episode, “The Renegade.” During The Renegade, you’re dispatched on a rescue mission to save Caldarius and by doing so, recruit him to your cause and make him a playable hero. The same goes for ISIC in “The Algorithm” – you debug the rogue Magnus AI and make him friendly – well… tolerable – and he joins your team. As the story advances, you’re not only unlocking new Battleborn to command, you’re also gaining experience towards the hero’s Character Rank and your personal Command Rank. Playing through the episodes also scores you new lore challenges, titles, and gear that you’ll be able to use in the competitive multiplayer modes.

Now that the game is done, the dev team can start looking to the future. Even after the first “season” of Battleborn episodes, we’re not done! We plan to make more heroes and tell more stories about our heroes. As we mentioned the other day, 2K’s vision for Battleborn post-launch content includes five add-on packs – each pack including a new side story in the form of a Story Operation, as well as exclusive hero skins and taunts. And each add-on pack will cost you five bucks. You can get full details on post-launch content HERE.

EXPANDED UNIVERSE

Speaking of stories - in case you haven’t seen it yet, check out the Battleborn prequel motion comics to see how the fight to save Solus started. This cool little bit of Battleborn’s expanded universe sets up what’s happened before the game starts, and before the Battleborn unite. You can find them on the Battleborn website and on our YouTube channel. Check it out below!

OPEN BETA

The best part is: you won’t have to wait to try out Battleborn’s episodic-style story! The Battleborn Open Beta begins on April 8th on PS4 and April 13th on PC and Xbox One. Jump in solo or grab some buddies for up to 5-player co-op and 2-player split-screen couch co-op while you play through two Story Mode episodes: The Algorithm and Void’s Edge. Experience the natural progression of the game as you rank up and unlock new heroes, skins, taunts, Helix mutations, and more during the Battleborn Open Beta. Click here for more information.

There’s a LOT going into Battleborn’s story episodes. Be sure to catch them on your PS4, PC, and Xbox One when Battleborn premieres on May 3, 2016.